Quite capable of drawing the human side for the slicks (Saturday Evening Post, American, Woman's Home Companion, Cosmopolitan), he is best known for painting man and machine, especially, the automobile. He was there from the early days of auto racing with the Vanderbilt Cup Race of 1906 (he would later own the winning roadster, Old No. 16, which he left to the Henry Ford Museum), Helck and cars had a long, loving relationship and he knew drivers from Louis Wagner to Mario Andretti. An early artistic influence was Edouard Montaut and his ability to depict movement of objects through exaggeration (Helck would also study under Frank Brangwyn). Another source of realism was that he painted on the spot, not from photographs. His first art jobs were automotive: the Brighton Beach Motordrome and Sheepshead Bay Speedway. In addition to his ad work (Packhard, TWA, Caterpillar Tractor, Sinclair Oil, GE, Chevrolet, Mack Trucks, Alcoa, Republic Steel, Johnny Walker), Helck had one of Esquire's only non-girlie calendars in 1950 (he also did articles and illustrations for Esquire). Author of two books: The Checkered Flag and Great Auto Races, he was also a contributor to the Famous Artists' Course, as well as Automobile Quarterly.